The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers recently announced that Suddenlink Communications’ Jason Byrd and Charter Communications’ Randy Dart were the first individuals to certify in its engineering professional program.

Byrd was the first to earn the SCTE Internet Protocol Engineering Professional (IPEP) certification. Byrd is a regional data engineer with Suddenlink in Greenville, N.C.

The SCTE’s IPEP Certification Program debuted last fall and certifies knowledge in the engineering aspects of IP systems within the cable telecommunications industry and includes the design, analysis, testing, integration, deployment considerations and troubleshooting of a variety of IP systems.

Dart was the inaugural achiever of the SCTE Digital Video Engineering Professional (DVEP) certification. An SCTE member since 1989, Dart is network engineer-3, Wisconsin KMA with Charter and lives near La Crosse, Wis.

The SCTE’s DVEP Certification Program certifies knowledge in the engineering aspects of digital media (including video, audio, interactive services and associated data) systems as deployed in the cable telecommunications industry. The scope includes the design, analysis, testing, integration, deployment considerations and troubleshooting of various digital media systems from the headend to the customer premises.

“SCTE Certification Programs are the careful handiwork of many devoted volunteer subject matter experts,” said Pam Nobles, the SCTE’s director of professional development. “Congratulations to Jason Byrd and Randy Dart for taking advantage of these programs, demonstrating their engineering professionalism and setting a fine example that their peers can now emulate.”

Besides IPEP and DVEP, the SCTE Certification Program includes Broadband Premises Installer (BPI), Broadband Premises Technician (BPT), Broadband Premises Expert (BPE), Broadband Distribution Specialist (BDS), Broadband Transport Specialist (BTS) and Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist (BTCS).

Byrd is also certified in the BDS, BTCS and BTS programs. Dart is also certified in the BDS, BTCS, BTS, BCE and BCT programs.